Small Business Management - Business Vision

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BUSINESS VISION

All organizations , big or small require a vision which not only states what the business wants to achieve, but also what their key values are. A vision is a representation of a possible and desirable condition that a business wishes to achieve.  A vision is a vivid mental image of what you want your business to be at some point in the future, based on your goals and aspirations. Having a vision will give your business a clear focus, and can stop you heading in the wrong direction.

It is a graphic description where a business hopes to be in the future.  Therefore, a vision is simply a dream on a direction a business is headed over a long time.  A strategic vision are intentions that are broad, all inclusive and forward looking.

Examples of strategic vision:

-         Vision 2020;- Nigeria to be among the top (20) twenty nations of the world by the year 2020.

-         MTN Nigeria.  To be the leading provider of Telecommunication services in Nigeria.

Mission Statement

This is a statement of business purpose:- What it stands for and  what to accomplished in the environment.  It talks about nature of the business, customer services, customer satisfaction, products, marketing, price, and distribution all in a statement.

The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It provides "the framework or context within which the company's strategies are formulated." It is like a goal for what the company wants to do for the world.

Examples of Mission Statement

-         To provide a first class network quality customer service and value.

-         Like Coca Cola Mission Statement:- To refresh the world;- in body, mind and spirit.  To inspire moment of optimism:- through our brand and our action.

-         To create value and make a difference.

BUSINESS OBJECTIVES AND GOALS:

Well-chosen goals and objectives point a new business in the right direction and keep an established company on the right track. Just think about what football would be without end zones or what the Indianapolis 500 would be without a finish line.

When establishing goals and objectives, try to involve everyone who will have the responsibility of achieving those goals and objectives after you lay them out.

To help you better understand how you can set goals and objectives, you first need a good foundation for what the two are.

·         Goals establish where you intend to go and tell you when you get there. They help improve your overall effectiveness as a company — whether you want to increase your share of the market, for example, or improve your customer service. The more carefully you define your goals, the more likely you are to do the right things and achieve what you wanted to accomplish in the first place.

·         Objectives are the specific steps you and your company need to take in order to reach each of your goals. They specify what you must do — and when.

Think of goals and objectives this way:

·         Goals tell you where you want to go; objectives tell you exactly how to get there.

·         Goals can increase your effectiveness; objectives back your goals and make you more efficient.

·         Goals are typically described in words; objectives often come with numbers and specific dates.

Suppose that your goal is to double the number of people using your web-conferencing service. Your objectives may be as follows:

·         Gain awareness by placing print ads in four regional markets and by airing radio ads in two major markets (by June 10)

·         Attract first-time customers by offering an online giveaway of $1,000 (by June 1)

·         Cultivate prospects by implementing a permission-based weekly e-mail to 2,500 targeted contacts (by July 10)

·         Convert 10 percent of prospects to clients, using e-mail reminders (beginning July 25)

Together, goals and objectives form the road map for your company’s future. Without them, you risk making wrong turns and wasting precious

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MISSION AND VISION:

This is an excellent and important question. Think of the words 'visionary' and 'missionary'. A visionary is someone who imagines possible futures. A missionary is someone who does work under the guidance of a larger objective. Similarly, the vision statement describes how the world will be different because of the existence of the group, while the mission statement provides the 'vehicle' for the vision; it describes the means that will be used to achieve the desired future. Because of their nature, the vision statement generally lasts for the life of the organization, while a mission statement should be revisited every two to three years to make sure that the means being used to attain the vision are still relevant. When crafting these statements for your organization, consider the following questions:

Vision

What is the future you want to create for the community you wish to address?

Mission

What do we do?
For whom do we do it?
What is the impact?